Throughout the year, cultural pride is on display
in Massachusetts. Annual Italian feast-day processionals
wind their way through urban streets in veneration
of saints. Generations of Irish-Americans gather
for St. Patrick's Day parades. Members of Boston’s
Caribbean community strut in oversized sequined
costumes each summer. Carnival parades, pow wows,
competitions, and processionals are all gatherings
of people
taking part in public ritual, performing ethnicity.
People devote enormous energy, resources, and artistry
to share these traditions with insiders and outsiders
alike.